“Shanuka, because of you I’m inspired to start a business in portraits.”

Meet Deivam Creations:

Deivam Creations is a  South Asian-woman-owned business started by two teenagers, Shanuka and Ashvini. They’ve created Deivam Creations as a way to infuse an Indian take on Western jewelry, but also showcase wonderful pieces that embody their culture. Their work incorporates many unique pieces of jewelry including earrings, necklaces, and more to come! I had the utmost pleasure interviewing these amazing girls and will talk more about their art and how it was for them to create their own business as a South Asian duo. 

What does Deivam Creations mean to you and why did you create this?

We created this company called Deivam Creations mainly because we haven’t seen a lot of South Asian representation in jewelry, and since Western jewelry is a lot more trendier these days; we wanted to do a combo of both to showcase the South Asian culture as well as bring something new, so people can wear it on their everyday lives and show it off! The meaning of Deivam is goddess, so since it is owned by two South Asian women, we decided why not goddess! Deivam is in our mother tongue (Tamil), so it was a perfect fit to center our culture! Her actual color is actually black, so we thought she would be the perfect representation of confidence, power, boldness, and strength. We honestly just went for it!

What was your favorite process of creating jewelry? 

Our favorite process was actually coming up with the designs. We put all our creativity in and we tried making designs. We did this by sorting out what we liked and what we didn’t like and we had to think about how should we photograph our jewelry and what themes can we do, how simple can we go, and things similar to that. To put it in simple terms, the creative process was the most intriguing and most enjoyable moment. All the financial stuff was a huge headache but the creative side is way more relaxing. We got to showcase our creative aspects so I think we got to know each other more while we were designing. 

How did Deivam Creation get started and why did you create it?

Back then me and Ashvini used to go to Tamil class every Saturday and we got along so well. And then one-day Ashvini asked me, “Do you want to start a business with me?” and I said, “YES, let's do it!” I never expected myself to create a business but I’m happy to start one with her! 

Me either because to be honest, after seeing so many people in my life like cousins and everyone, I wanted to prove to them and myself that if I put my mind to it, I can do anything! So my best friend Shanuka and I was just like you know what, let’s just show the world who we are. Since we are both dark-skinned, generally a lot more fair skin people are represented more, so we wanted to give South Asian women the confidence to go for it. You can never showcase yourself better if you don’t actually put your foot into it. For me I am the first child from my mom and dad side, so I basically wanted to break the generational curse of having a job and working every day 9-5 all the time, so I took a huge risk to start a business because all of the people look down on me for creating a business. But I’m not going to work under someone else and I prefer to work for myself and I’m going to influence my younger cousins. I want to do this!

How is the process of actually creating jewelry?

As the design manager, how it technically works for jewelry making is that most of the products come from Amazon and stocks, and we kind of sort them out and get a real idea of what we can do with the stuff we have, and then it comes right to the brain. When you think of Earth, you think of green. When we put it into gold and silver we try to think which colors can go with this green, which colors would go with this gold, etc. It’s kind of like color coordination. With designs, we usually draw them out or randomly put things together and it works! Honestly, it’s always random, most of the time our designs are unplanned. What we noticed is just that, if we are bored, make jewelry because that’s when the best designs come! Or whenever we have an idea, draw it down so that way we can try it out, and if it doesn’t work it’s okay. It’s always a give-and-go situation. Let me reenact a moment we had once. Basically, we were just sitting down and me and her were just trying different combinations for earrings, and Ashvini goes “look at this,” and I went “YO!” We both thought it looked so good, so that’s how it goes. We just ask each other “What do you think?” and I give a reaction and it goes like that. Or sometimes we ask our close friends about what they think; it helps us to reflect on future designs to make sure we follow the same trail over and over.

What is your favorite jewelry piece?

I think mine is the Rocky Wave in the water collection. And for me, I like Gem Galore; it’s a bracelet that is in the water collection that has a lot of gemstones. It includes a blue gemstone, a white granite pearl, or lava bead. That one is amazing, I was just in love. We’ve had a lot of funny moments while creating our jewelry, you know some accidents happen and we just randomly laugh our lungs out. Honestly laughing at yourself is the best way to take out any anxiety! So what if you made a mistake, you’ll learn from it!

What is your favorite thing about owning a South-Asian-women business all by yourselves?

My favorite thing is that this work is a part of me. It’s something I can keep forever. As a South-Asian woman, I get to inspire other little girls out there. I have a cousin who's also Tamil too and she said, “Shanuka, because of you I’m inspired to start a business in portraits.” It helps to empower other South Asians to also start their own business. Honestly, it also boosted my self-confidence, my self-motivation, and my self-esteem. Before starting this business, I was tipsy and scared because I didn’t know if I could make it. As a South Asian woman, I feel powerful and I feel like I can be an inspiration. I can influence others to follow their dreams, and no matter what other people say, just keep going for it. If you start now, you can be happy later. Start everything now!

To anyone who wants to start their own business, but is scared to do it, what would you tell them?

For me, if someone just comes up to me and asks, “Shanuka, should I start a business?”. I will always say “Go for it!”. Just do it, don’t be scared, and take the risk. If you don't, you're going to feel bad later in your life, like “Oh I wish I started this a long time ago.” If someone wanted a business, I would honestly guide them through. One of my best friends is starting a business in nails in mehndi (@ Monarch Beauty); she was honestly very scared because she didn’t know if her family would be supportive or if she could do it. I was once in that same place, but if you just prove to them that your business is actually becoming successful, they actually become a lot more trusting in you. After we started having sales and we got a lot of recognition, my parents were like “You know what this is actually working, just keep going!” Proving it to somebody and yourself will keep you going. So just ANYTHING, if you want to try something new go for it! You never know how many people will like it if you try it out. Never be afraid and be open-minded because you only live once.